Lehran's Manor
by MonaLisa20
Summary: <html><head></head>Soren is left by his caretaker at the Lehran's manor: an odd place that houses extraordinary people with rare abilities. What if his roommate happened to be a certain blue-haired swordsman? will they manage to get along? eventual Ike/Soren</html>
1. Chapter 1: A magical something

Hey everyone! Thanks for stopping by. This is the first story the factory is submitting and I really hope you enjoy it.

_Info about this story:_

**Title:** Lehran's manor

**Parings:** Ike/Soren mainly

**FE10**

**AU (XIX century-ish)**

**Rating:** T, probably

Without, further ado, here it is!

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><p>It is said that there is uniqueness in every single being. There will never be two of the same, no matter how similar or how much in common they might have; there will never be someone who shares the same traits as you. It was all a plain lie, of course. No matter how original one may think they are, it had been proven there is always someone who is just like you.<p>

But then again, no one seemed to be like Soren. He was so different that his family decided that leaving him would be for the best. That's how he ended up on a carriage with his custodian as they were taken towards the mansion of the one person who was surprisingly interested in him; yet Soren didn't really know him.

The carriage stopped in front of the Lehran's manor gate but the doorman didn't seem to want to open it.

"Aren't we going to be taken all the way to the main door?" Soren asked, not looking at the woman who was his keeper, but staring at the large front yard that lead to the mansion's main entrance.

"I'm afraid this is about as far as we can take you" The woman stated without a trace of remorse.

"Fine" Soren replied grabbing his suitcase and opening the door.

Once out of the carriage, he turned towards his keeper. She smiled at him slightly but didn't seem to crumble in the least bit; rather at peace, actually.

"Goodbye" It stung to say the words, it stung to know that his caretaker was so willing to sell him off to a complete stranger, yet he managed to keep his usual stoic self and not let the pain show.

She stared at him a few moments without saying anything.

"Good luck, Soren" She finally said.

Soren nodded and the carriage took off, leaving him standing there; alone with only a suitcase to hold onto.

"Are you here to see the master?" The doorman suddenly asked getting Soren's attention. He was an aged man, considerably pale and with very light eyes.

"Yes" Soren answered "He is expecting me, I believe"

The man nodded and unlocked the chain to let him through.

X

The mansion seemed to be in perfect conditions. The yard was well mowed; the plants all seemed to be taken care of. The mansion looked as good as new. And who knows, maybe it _was_ new. But the fact that it gave off some sort of ancient aura made him think it had seen many years pass through.

"Name, please?" Once he entered the foyer, he was greeted by a young woman, with short brown hair and hazel eyes with a list in her hands. Soren quickly read the tag on her uniform which said 'Tanith'.

"Soren. No last name"

She nodded and quickly read the sheet of paper on her hands.

"Coming all the way from Daein, huh?" She gave him a small smile which quickly faded "The master has been waiting for at least an hour now" She frowned, pointing at a huge, old oak clock near the door.

"I- yes, I'm sorry. The trip was a bit rough"

She eyed him up and down "This way. Follow me, please"

He nodded and walked behind her through the halls of the mansion.

Everything seemed very elegant and expensive. Was he supposed to think of this place as his home now? No, he knew better than that. People like him didn't have a home.

"Here you go. The master is behind that door. Please, make sure to apologize for your tardiness" And with that, Tanith quickly left.

Soren turned to the huge wooden door in front of him. Well, then, it was time to meet the man who bought him.

He raised his gloved fist to knock, but a voice inside the room prevented him from doing so

"Come on in"

Soren blinked. How did he know he was outside?

He didn't dwell on it, though, and promptly entered the room.

"Ah! Soren, finally!" The man before him looked much younger than he had expected. He was very pale, had incredibly long-even longer than his own-black hair and dark eyes. Soren bowed his head politely.

"I apologize for being late"

"It's alright" The man stood up from his desk and quickly went to meet Soren. "What matters is that you're already here. My name is Lehran, duke of Persis, a pleasure to meet you"

Soren shook his hand but didn't say anything; he looked quiet confused, though.

"Don't be shy, boy" Lehran smiled "This is your home now. Think of us as your family" He spoke in a very low, serene voice.

Soren squinted, "I appreciate your kindness, lord Lehran. But, I'm curious to know-"

"Oh, right" Lehran interrupted "I never told you why I summoned you here"

First of all, it really annoyed him when people cut him off. And also, was this man a psychic or something? This was the second time Lehran seemed to have read his mind.

Not that Soren believed in psychics…

"You see, Soren, you are very special"

…Right, try to make him feel better about himself.

"You have the ability to cast spells, do you not?"

Soren looked at him with distrust. Where was he getting at? "I do" He nodded simply.

"In these times, that isn't common at all" Lehran seemed to ignore the look Soren gave him and kept smiling kindly at him "Also, your blood is very rare as well, is it not?"

Soren's eyes widened.

"No need to be alarmed, child" Lehran kept that suspiciously calm expression. Soren wasn't buying it "This is a haven for people like you"

Soren raised his brow "….people like me?" was this a manor full of branded? No, it couldn't be, he would have noticed, right?

"Not just hybrids like you, my boy. This haven houses special, _extraordinary_ people with plenty of different abilities that are either not understood by the rest of the world, or simply not taken to its full potential"

Soren stared at him for what seemed to be an eternity. Was this man serious?

"So you collect….rare people?" freaks was what he actually wanted to say, but settled for rare instead. He squinted; more like glared, actually.

Lehran raised his index finger "I don't _collect_, Soren" he stared at him firmly "I protect and aid"

And that was a yes.

X

As things turned out, living there wouldn't be so bad after all. They had an amazingly big library which they told him he could make use of whenever he pleased. They'd provide him with three meals a day and not charge him a single gald. And they even would provide him of a bed and clothing.

But he soon found out it _was_ too good to be true. As Sigrun-another girl who seemed to be in Lehran's staff-showed him to the dorms, she gave him the bad news.

"Here's your room"

It was fairly big, bigger than he had expected. It had its own bathroom, a desk, several bookshelves, a window that lead to one of the gardens….and two beds.

"Your roommate is currently training, but he should be back soon to welcome you"

Soren froze.

"A roommate?" He stared at Sigrun as if she had offended him somehow.

She blinked confusedly "Yes, didn't lord Lehran tell you? Everyone is assigned to a roommate to save up space" She frowned in concentration "Well, almost everyone. Yours didn't have one until now" She pointed at the other bed.

Soren's brow twitched "And who is he, may I ask?"

"Oh! Ike? He's a very nice guy, you two will get along just fine"

"I doubt it" Soren muttered but Sigrun didn't seem to have heard him "Isn't there an unoccupied room for me? I'd prefer some privacy" He gave Sigrun a hopeful glance-as well as he could manage- and held tightly to his suitcase.

"Sorry, Soren" She smiled apologetically "But the master already gave his orders. Besides, I'm sure you two will become good friends. Just give him a chance"

Soren stared at the other bed darkly.

"I'll leave you so that you can unpack at ease"

Soren growled in irritation once he heard the door close.

X

As weird as it may be, he had spent the whole afternoon trying to figure out what kind of a weirdo his roommate was. He easily spotted which bed he used, since it was very badly made. Also, the blankets had noticeable stains of food here and there.

The closet didn't have many clothes inside; but the few garments were very sloppily hung. Some even were almost falling to the floor. Apparently, he only had a single pair of brown boots; other than whatever he was wearing right now if he wasn't a barefoot lunatic, of course. On closer inspection, it'd seem his roommate didn't care for cleanness. There were bits of…stuff and dirt in every corner; as if that was about how best he could sweep. A quick look under his roommate's bed revealed everything else; like socks, papers, dirty plates and other stuff that had been hidden there.

He didn't even _dare_ go inside their now shared bathroom.

X

Soren had made himself busy trying to accommodate his belongings. He hung the few clothes he had on the other side of the closet. He set his undergarments and sleepwear on the nightstand next to his bed… and placed a few books on the empty shelves.

He sat in his bed nervously, waiting for this Ike person to show up.

How was he like? He wondered. Was he actually nice like Sigrun had said? What sort of rarity did he posses to have his parents dump him here? Will the two of them actually be able to get along?

Soren knew it was inane to be having these thoughts; but he couldn't help it. It didn't matter of course if he was nice or not. The only thing that mattered was if he would respect Soren's personal space or not…and if he could manage to clean up once in a while.

The doorknob turned and he heard the door creaking.

X

It was a man around his age, incredibly tall-much taller than Soren- and well toned. He had broad shoulders a thick neck and brawny arms. His hair was blue, just like his eyes.

"Uh" The stranger said looking at Soren with a surprised expression. He even stepped back and checked the dorm's number just to make sure he had the right room. Soren mentally face-palmed.

"Oh, hey" He said finally, closing the door behind him. "I'm Ike"

He wore what seemed to be the manor's uniform: Simple blue pants, a matching blazer, and a white-in heavy need of an iron- button shirt; the uniform was supposed to have a vest but this… Ike had apparently discarded it.

"My name is Soren" He said coldly narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah, I know" Ike sat in his own bed across Soren.

Soren's glared intensified. Was everyone here aspiring telepaths?

"Do you?" He replied.

"Yeah" Ike smiled "I was waiting for you. I even tried to tidy up a bit"

Soren stared at him in disbelief. So this was how the room looked when Ike tried to _'tidy up'_?

"Honestly, I was kind of nervous. I've never had a roommate before so I wasn't sure what to expect" Ike looked at him a bit more intensely, making Soren involuntarily blush "But you seem like a pretty nice guy" He smiled widely.

Soren pursed his lips "You shouldn't assume, though"

"Huh?" Ike inquired.

"You just met me. For all you know, I might as well be a killer or a psychopath" Soren looked anywhere but Ike, trying to ignore his quickly beating heart. What had gotten into him? It was very unlike him to feel like this.

"But you're not"

"How can you be so sure?" Soren looked at him curiously.

Ike shrugged "I can tell"

"Is that your…'special gift'?" Soren asked frowning.

"Huh?" Ike blinked "Special gift…? Oh! You mean-no, not at all" He chuckled "It's just that, believe me, I've met all kinds of crazy people and you don't fit the psychopath type at all"

"Mm" Soren squinted

"I'm a swordsman, by the way" Soren blinked confusedly.

"A swordsman?" He repeated "That's it?"

Ike scratched the nape of his neck "Yeah, that's about it. I would like to say I'm a magical something, but really I'm just a swordsman"

"Well…" Soren gulped "I'm a wind sage" He said, not revealing what was probably the true trait which caught Lehran's attention.

"Really? That's cool" Ike grinned "So you can create tornados and stuff like that?"

"Among other things, yes" Ike kept looking at Soren with that intense stare; it only deepened the rosiness in his cheeks.

"Well, then" Ike stood up and walked towards Soren. "Nice to meet you, Soren" He smiled and extended his hand.

Soren looked at him with caution"…Nice to meet you as well, Ike" Soren took his hand unsurely.

He was pleased to have found that his partner wasn't a weirdo or a lunatic, like he had expected; at least he didn't _seem_ to be. And who knows, maybe Sigrun was right and they could actually get along

...as roommates.

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><p>Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!<p>

I really hope you enjoyed it. See you next Tuesday!


	2. Chapter 2: Blunt screwball

Hey everyone! Welcome back to the factory! I'm sorry I didn't update last Thursday. But here I am!

_Info about this story:_

**Title:** Lehran's manor

**Parings:** Ike/Soren mainly

**FE10**

**AU (XIX century-ish)**

**Rating:** T, probably

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Here it is!

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><p>That first night he spent at the manor had been one of the worst he's had.<p>

Yes, he had deemed Ike as not a lunatic, but Soren just wasn't one to trust that easily and thus wasn't taking any chances. He kept waking up every five minutes to check if everything was alright. Ike didn't move from his bed the entire night, only occasionally tossing and turning but not even as much. But each time the other bed squeaked-even in the slightest-Soren's eyes would shot open, making it almost impossible for him to sleep.

So the next morning he woke up feeling completely drained, exhausted beyond belief and with an acute neck pain that would kill him the entire day; he was surprised he didn't have bloodshot eyes or at least massive under-eye circles.

"So, first we need to get you a uniform" Ike was leading him downstairs and Soren simply followed him quietly. He was stiff and kept glaring at everyone who passed him by. He was used to people avoiding him-honestly, who _wouldn't _with his death glare-so it came as a surprise to find there was someone who kept staring at him and who even appeared to be following them as they walked through one of the halls.

Lehran's manor was the last place Soren had expected to find himself in. There were all sorts of odd people walking around. There were people with tails, people with cat ears, and there were even people with _wings._ But it didn't matter how many persons they passed by, this odd…individual just kept _staring_; Soren unconsciously walked closer to Ike. It was an enormous man with wild red hair, bold brows and pointy ears; Soren could only wonder how they managed to get a uniform that fitted him.

"Hello, Ike" The red-haired man stood in front of them, blocking their way "Who is this little man who accompanies you today?"

Soren gave him his best, trade-mark cold stare and was about to retort when Ike interrupted him.

"Hey, Skrimir" Ike greeted casually "This is Soren. He's my new roommate"

"Ah! I see" Skrimir-as Ike had called him- grinned with feline fangs "You're the new recruit I heard my men talk about"

"'_Your men'_?" Soren snorted "Just who do you think you are?" He raised his chin defiantly and mocked Skrimir without thinking twice about it.

Ike blinked, probably surprised by his response.

"Ha!" Skrimir chuckled in his deep voice "He's got character!" He smirked, "I like that. You should join me for a meal sometime"

"As if!" Soren's glare deepened and he strode right past Skrimir who's pleased smirk didn't lessen (much to Soren's dislike).

"Um," Ike looked a bit puzzled "I guess we'll see you later, Skrimir"

And he jogged to catch-up with Soren.

X

Soren had slowed down his pace after realizing he had no idea which way he was going.

"Hey" Ike said, returning to his side "What was that all about?"

Soren sighed "I apologize if I embarrassed you. I simply-"

"No, not at all" Ike quickly cut him off "I've just never met someone that straightforward before"

Soren looked at him-as if sizing him up-and squinted (which was far from a glare).

"Yes, well" He finally answered "I didn't like his attitude"

Ike-with an ever present frown, that somehow kept striking Soren as understanding rather than angry-smiled "I figured as much"

"I'm no hypocrite" Soren sighed (again). He had no idea why he suddenly felt like explaining himself. He never had; he was ok with just being the crabby, bitter person that no one understood "if he was bothering me I was most definitely letting him know"

Ike nodded and that small, sincere smile never left his face "Like I said, I've never met someone that clear-cut before" He paused and Soren looked at him with interest. He appeared to be about to say something else, but Soren beat him to it-

"And is that a good thing or a bad thing?" '_huh?' _was that him who asked that? Just what was going on with him? Never, _never_ before had something slipped his tongue without going through his brain's approval; something was definitely wrong. "Forget it" He shook his head, trying to clear his sleep-deprived brain. But Ike replied anyways.

"A good thing!" He chuckled "I'm glad to know I'm not the only blunt screwball around"

Soren didn't laugh, or even crack a smile-not that Ike expected him to or anything- he simply stared at Ike amusedly.

"!" Ike stopped his pace abruptly.

"What is it?"

"Your uniform!"

Soren arched an eyebrow "Yes. Weren't we going to get one?"

"Yeah, we were just….going in the wrong direction"

Ike grabbed his arm lightly and pulled him towards another one of the manor's tricky halls. Soren should probably get a map if he intended on living there.

"I swear food calls me out or something" Ike muttered.

Soren was about to ask but decided not to. The scent of food was very distinct.

They had probably been heading for the kitchen.

X

Soren had been asked many things by people before. He was used to them asking: _'why are your eyes red?'_, _'why do you look so young?'_, _'why are you so cold?'_, and his favorite, _'what is that mark on your forehead?'_ But never had anyone asked him,

"Do you happen to have a tail?"

Soren frowned "Excuse me?" but almost right after he said it, he reminded himself of where he actually was: a place where there _were_ people who did 'happen to have a tail'.

Ike had finally found the storage room after what seemed like ages of walking. Apparently this young, wide-eyed, overly cheerful girl was in charge of handing down the uniforms. She was short-but still taller than Soren, _dammit_-, she had shoulder-length copper hair, and big cerulean eyes.

"No. I guess you don't" She mumbled to herself and scratched something off a notebook she was holding. She was wearing the manor's uniform for girls which was pretty simple and consisted of a white blouse and a blue, fitted pinafore.

"I guess I don't even have to ask you about wings, right?" She giggled, obviously trying to be friendly.

Soren merely stared.

"So," Ike suddenly said "Do you think you have a size that would fit him, Mist?" Ike stared at Soren up and down- evaluating. And, to his own horror, Soren blushed (just slightly and it was barely noticeable, but it was still there). "He seems to be pretty small"

Soren's eyes narrowed but failed to commit the murderous-ness they usually did. There was just something…off about Ike, something that wasn't quite right. There had to be. And it kept making Soren feel…uneasy. He should probably keep blaming the lack of sleep.

Mist tilted her head and stared at Soren just like Ike was doing. "Um, I don't see why we shouldn't" She placed a hand under her chin "I mean _Rolf_ has one, right?" She laughed and went to check on some wooden boxes that were far against the off-white wall.

Ike and Soren just stood there without saying anything. Mist kept going through whatever was inside those boxes, constantly tugging the bottom of her uniform as it kept sliding up whenever she bent.

"She's my sister, by the way" Ike said suddenly. Soren raised his head-carefully, so that he wouldn't hurt his neck which was still sore- and looked from Ike to the clumsy girl practically swimming inside one of the boxes.

"Your _sister_?" Soren blinked. He wouldn't have guessed it by looking at them; which was odd, since Soren was one to notice even the smallest details. "…As in actually related by blood?"

Ike nodded and smiled "Yeah. Same father, same mother" Soren just kept staring. Not even their eye color was the same shade (even if they both had blue eyes).

"Oh" was Soren's simple response.

Suddenly, and they really weren't sure how, one of the boxes was on top of Mist's head. She quickly took it off and held up some piece of clothing triumphantly.

"Ha Ha!" she grinned "Found it!"

"…I honestly don't see the resemblance" Soren said, staring at Mist who's hair kept bouncing as she cheerfully ran back to them.

"Mmh" Ike replied "No one does"

X

"Here you go" Mist handed him his uniform "It's the smallest size we've got"

Soren took it, carefully avoiding her hands. She nodded and then dusted down her own uniform.

"Well?" Ike started, - seeing as Soren wasn't moving- "Aren't you going to try it on?"

"_Here?_" Soren shrieked with horror. Not only was this uniform full of dust and dirt-which was definitely going to a *copper later today-but they also expected him to change in front of them?

"Of course not!" Mist kicked her brother "Come on, there's a broom closet here"

Soren followed her quickly (and thankfully).

X

It turned out the smallest size just wasn't small enough.

"Hn" Soren stared down at his uniform looking clearly displeased. The blazer's sleeves where just too long, the white shirt was baggy-but he didn't mind that too much-, the vest just didn't fit him right, and not to mention the length of the pants…

"You are certain you don't have a size smaller?" Soren stared at Mist who was pursing her lips.

"Don't worry," Ike said "Mist's good at sewing, she can fix them for you, right Mist?"

"Sure!" She beamed "I'll get it in no time. Believe me, I could make a living as a custom clothier. I keep doing it for Ike and Boyd!"

Soren shook his head and kept staring at his saggy uniform "That won't be necessary. I can do it myself"

X

And he could-much to Ike's surprise. And even faster than Mist usually did.

By nighttime, they were back to their dorm and Soren was practically done fixing his uniform.

"Whoa" Ike said staring as Soren tried on his blazer. It fitted him just perfectly. He would have never thought Soren was skilled at sewing. "You fixed it so fast. Where did you learn how to do that?"

Soren took off his blazer and placed it-neatly folded-on top of his bed, next to the pants he had already altered as well.

"Well," He sat back on his bed and grabbed the uniform's black vest "the woman who raised me didn't bother to do anything for me. So I had to become self-sufficient at a very young age" Ike tilted his head and frowned.

"'_The woman who raised you'_?" He quoted, "You mean your mother?"

"No" Soren's eyes were still on the vest in his lap, but the scissors and sewing needles laid forgotten next to him "I never met my mother. Or any of my parents for that matter" there he was again, saying more than he had to. It bothered him to know that Ike kept doing this to him, kept…not doing anything at all but managing to get so much from him. Soren bit back a growl.

"I," Ike said hesitantly "I'm sorry"

"Don't be" Soren said, regaining his composure and taking back his tools to fix the badly made vest "It doesn't bother me, honestly"

"My mother died when I was very young. I barely remember her" Ike said. Soren raised his eyes to meet Ike's. He swallowed; that feeling of uneasiness was back.

"And father…" His shoulders dropped just slightly (but Soren noticed) "He died about three years ago"

Soren wasn't sure of how to reply. These…_moments_ he's had with Ike may very well be the first proper conversations he's had with anyone. He usually didn't interact with people-at all- and thus, he never had to say anything about something like this before. What worried him the most was that he _wanted_ to say something; he just wasn't sure what.

"…I'm sorry" He said slowly, settling for simply repeating what Ike had said to him earlier.

Ike shrugged. "It's not that bad" He smiled and stood up to get ready for bed. "They're in a better place now, right?"

"…Right" Soren echoed.

Ike took off his blazer and started unbuttoning his shirt. Soren kept giving him side glances. He was _not _staring. He wasn't! He was just…aware, as always. That's it. When it finally sank into his bran that Ike was actually shamelessly _undressing_-right then and there-he bolted up and turned his eyes to the floor, trying to ignore his heated cheeks.

"I'm still here!" He said with irritation. Ike stopped before he could completely unbutton his white shirt. He turned to Soren and frowned confusedly.

"Huh?"

"Go change elsewhere" He pointed to their bathroom, still averting his eyes. Ike nodded slowly.

"Oh. Right. Sorry"

He went to the bathroom door quickly, not wanting to upset Soren any further.

Soren huffed. Having a roommate, no, having _Ike_ as a roommate was going to be harder than he thought.

X

It was past midnight.

Soren had given up on his uniform. He was too tired and his eyes-and neck _still_-were just about killing him. He rubbed his closed lids carefully and raised his bed sheets some more.

"Can't sleep?" He heard Ike ask suddenly from his bed.

Soren opened his eyes quickly and turned to stare at him. Ike was laying on his side, propping his head with his palm. His voice sounder deeper and a bit raspier; he sounded incredibly drowsy.

"No, I can't" Soren shook his head and sat up in his bed.

"Why not?" Ike yawned. His blue eyes looking more closed than open, but he stayed up nevertheless; oddly enough, his left eye started twitching slightly. Soren just stared curiously.

"I just feel anxious here" He didn't say: _'I don't trust you to not try anything while I'm asleep'_ but he hoped Ike got the hidden message.

"Mm?" Ike yawned again, his elbow slowly slipping on the mattress. "Don't worry" He said. His head was already against his pillow "If anything happens, I'll protect you"

Soren blinked. That was unexpected. He was about to make a witty reply but Ike was already asleep (and snoring lightly). Soren laid against his pillow again and tried to force his brain to shut down.

He stared at Ike for a long time. He finally managed to close his eyes with that image in his mind. His body subconsciously moved to the edge of the bed; maybe trying to get closer to the other man.

He would thankfully get some needed rest tonight, and maybe tomorrow his brain would start working properly again.

* * *

><p><strong>Copper:<strong> A large pot used for heating water or washing clothes over a fire.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!

See you next time!


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